The Language of Poetry

Examples of rhyme might be

‘Whose woods these are I think I knowHis house is in the village though’

OrThe woods are lovely dark and deep,But I have promises to keep

Rhyme

A poem that rhymes makes it easy and more enjoyable to read.

Rhyme makes a poem more musical.

Rhyme

A poem is a series of word pictures.

We see them with our imagination instead of our eyes.

We call these pictures images.

Images

The theme of a poem is the main topic or issue in the poem.

Just ask yourself what is the poem really about?

For example, the theme of ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ might be that life is sometimes hard but we need to keep travelling on.

Theme

When you talk to someone you can change the meaning of what you say by changing the tone of your voice.

Poems also have a tone.

This is the tone of voice of the poet, or the speaker of the poem.

The tone in this poem is a very sad, lonely or tired tone.

Tone

The main emotion in the poem is called the mood.

In ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’, there is a mood of wonder or sorrow.

Mood

The atmosphere of the poem is linked to the setting of the poem.

The lonely woods in ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ gives the poem an atmosphere of mystery, wonder and silence.

Atmosphere

When lots of words in a poem start with the same letter it is called alliteration.

This gives the line a special beat.

In poetry this is called rhythm.

For example the poem ‘Truant’ opens with the line ‘Sing a song of sunlight’

Alliteration

A simile is a special kind of image.

The poet creates a picture by comparing two things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’

For example:

‘as snug as a gun’

‘ran like the wind’

Simile

Sometimes a poet creates an image by comparing two things without using the words ‘like’, ‘as’ or ‘than’.

This is called a metaphor.

For example:

It’ raining cats and dogs’ – The rain is compared to cats and dogs falling from the sky.

Metaphor

When something that is not live (an inanimate object) is given human characteristics it is called personification.

‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ – The cloud is described as if it is a person wandering around.

Personification

When a word imitates the sound it is describing it is called onomatopoeia.

The snow was ‘whispering’ and ‘rustling’ as it fell.

These verbs recreate the sound of the snow falling.

Onomatopoeia

When a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) is repeated in a line it is called assonance.

Notice it is the vowel sound and not just the vowel letter that creates assonance.

Words that rhyme often have assonance; this makes them sound the same.

For example: I know/ this rose is only/ an ink-and-

paper rose/ but see how it grows and goes/ on growing

Assonance

Repetition is when words or phrases are repeated in a poem.

In ‘Stopping by Woods...’

‘And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.’

Repetition

What happens in this poem? What is this poem about? Who is speaking in this poem? How does that person feel? What is the subject matter and

theme of the poem? What is the beginning, middle and

end of the poem? What is the mood of the poem?

Questions to ask of a poem

Be careful to observe if there is a sudden change in the poem towards the end. Does the poem move from despair to hope, love to regret?

What are the most powerful images in the poem?

Are there any comparisons or contrasts in the poem?

Does the writer use any sound effects in the poem e.g. Onomatopoeia

Is there any repetition in the poem? (Repetition adds emphasis to the subject)

Are there any devices or descriptive words that you found particularly interesting?

Are other figures of speech, e.g. Metaphors, similes, used?

Questions to ask of a poem